Most people buy Bitcoin via exchanges, such as Coinbase. Exchanges allow you to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency, and setting up an account is similar to opening a brokerage accountβyouβll need to verify your identity and provide some kind of funding source, such as a bank account or debit card. Major exchanges include Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini. You can also buy Bitcoin at a broker like Robinhood. Regardless of where you buy your Bitcoin, youβll need a digital wallet in which to store it. This might be whatβs called a hot wallet or a cold wallet. A hot wallet (also called an online wallet) is stored by an exchange or a provider in the cloud. Providers of online wallets include Exodus, Electrum and Mycelium. A cold wallet (or mobile wallet) is an offline device used to store Bitcoin and is not connected to the Internet. Some mobile wallet options include Trezor and Ledger.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that you can buy, sell and exchange directly, without an intermediary like a bank. Bitcoinβs creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, originally described the need for βan electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.β Each and every Bitcoin transaction thatβs ever been made exists on a public ledger accessible to everyone, making transactions hard to reverse and difficult to fake. Thatβs by design: Core to their decentralized nature, Bitcoins arenβt backed by the government or any issuing institution, and thereβs nothing to guarantee their value besides the proof baked in the heart of the system. βThe reason why itβs worth money is simply because we, as people, decided it has valueβsame as gold,β says Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder & CEO of digital financial service company Holyheld.
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